by John H. Fischer on November 10th, 2009
There is a big push to shop local, the thought being that money spent with locally-owned businesses keeps this money here locally. There are two sides to this philosophy.
Of course there is the shop local side of things. That if you spend money in a store owned by Mr. Smith who lives here locally, Mr. Smith will then use that money to pay other local bills. However, if the money is instead spent in huge big box store, a good chunk of that money leaves the Wausau area never to be seen again, at least not here locally.
However, the counter to that argument is that often (not always, but often) it is more expensive to shop locally. The big box stores are able to use volume to get their products at a lower cost and can use economies of scale to then offer the same product at a lower cost than a local, small retailer. In this economy, everyone is trying to make their dollar go farther, so if you can get the same product for 5-10% less at a big box, doesn’t that make more sense? And, not all of the big box revenues leave the local area, after all, they do employ local people, they do pay local property taxes, etc.
With the big boxes able to out-price the small, locally-owned retailer, how do the small, locally owned retailers continue to stay in business? Simple, they must learn to not compete on price, but instead compete on service.
Being an owner of a local business, I am faced with the same economic realities that our local retailers are faced with. According to the Wausau Daily Herald, in the last five years, there have been over a thousand rental units added to the local market place – most of these from out-of-town investors. They build in a scale that I cannot come close to. Because of economies of scale, they are able to offer their product for less cost than I am. Because of the size of their portfolio, they are able to undercut prices in certain markets (like mine) and make up for it by increasing prices in other more lucrative markets (like Madison or the Fox Valley). Therefore, I am faced with the same dilemma that local retailers face: do I lower prices and try to survive knowing that many customers only care about the price points – even if that means lowering services; OR, do I maintain current price points and services and sell myself using services.
Being a locally-owned company, I understand what locally-owned retailers go through. That is why even though I could save money and help my bottom line by using big box retailers for almost all of my supplies, I feel that us little guys really need to stick together, so whenever practical, I make an effort to use locally owned companies rather than big boxes. Here are just a few examples of how I make an attempt to keep money local:
Appliances
If you do some shopping on price, you will see that as far as a bottom line price, Best Buy will probably be the winner. However, locally-owned Grebes is really not that far out of line. And, based on volume, we can normally get appliances for a little bit less than retail. However, I don’t know that anyone can touch the service level of Grebes. It starts by being recognized and being addressed by name when you enter the store, continues to their willingness to work with us on the delivery and installation schedules, and is topped by a service department that is simply second to none. If I have a tenant with a refrigerator that won’t keep things cool, I know that one call to Grebe’s service department, and the problem is as good as taken care of.
In 2008, my records indicate that $10,867 was spent on new appliances. Although $923 was spent at big boxes like Menards and Home Depot, $4,964 was spent at Grebes and the rest was spent at other local businesses like Yesse Heating, Ace Hardware and Baumgardt Plumbing. So far in 2009, of the $7,118 spent on new appliances, $4,120 went to Grebes and the rest to the other local businesses already mentioned.
Staying local was also done with money spent when appliances simply needed to be repaired instead of replaced. In 2008, all but $792 (which also stayed local) of the $3,632 spent went to Grebes. So far this year, all but $93 of the $1,696 spent went to them.
Carpet
I could probably save money by going to a big box for carpet, but then the problem of coordinating installation comes up. Sometimes, we have a very tight window to work in of only a few days to get the old carpet out, and the new carpet in. Also, from time to time, we will change carpeting in an occupied rental for a long-time tenant, and this requires a great deal of coordination. In 2008 we spent $17,630 in carpet and installation, so far this year, $11,396 has been spent. All of this has gone to locally owned Showcase Carpets and one of their installers. Keeping the money local, and at the same time getting a level of service that no big box could ever match.
Building Supplies
Although we try to keep things local when it comes to general building and maintenance supplies, sometimes simple convenience does matter. Although over 25% of our maintenance supplies are purchased from Ace Hardware in Weston ($4,675 in 2008 and $5,290 so far in 2009), a good chunk is purchased from big box retailers. However, when choosing a big box, the vast majority comes from Menards. First, because they are a Wisconsin company, and second, because I personally HATE the self-check out lanes that they try to steer you to at Home Depot.
So, do those large, out-of-town apartment owners also shop locally for supplies? Or do they get volume discounts from the big boxes and are more concerned about bottom line than supporting the local economy? To be honest, I don’t know because I am not them.
Although I do believe when keeping dollars local when I can, I also know that I am not going to do business with you just because you are local. I chose to do a majority of my business with local companies like Grebes and Ace Hardware and Showcase Carpets because of the service I receive. If you think I should shop in your store because you are local but you don’t offer me a good value, and you don’t offer that “Northwoods Service” that I am willing to pay a little more for – than don’t expect my business. However, I will pay more to be more than just another customer coming through the door.
by John H. Fischer on February 9th, 2009
Dino and I appear to be on some kind of odd similar wavelength. Such similarity is not unusual for life long friends, but we only really casually know each other and although there is mutual respect, we really have nothing in common. Nothing except our thoughts on what we wanted to write about this week.
We weren’t in perfect sync: the 400 block was not my chosen topic. Instead, I wanted to give an outsider’s thoughts on the discussion as to the work needed on Third Street downtown.
Most of you would not consider me an outsider. However, I do not own or manage property in that area that most define as downtown. I also do not spend much of my time there. The closest I come to spending quality time downtown is the occasional weekend brunch at The Mint, catching a show at the Grand, or spending way too much time at the Courthouse (they seriously need to give me an office there). However downtown matters to me. It is a piece of the pie that is the Greater Wausau Metro Area. And all of those pieces need to work together and need to succeed together. So if one piece of this pie is missing or is in need of attention, it has a pull not only on the entire city, but the entire Metro. (For me, the City of Wausau is not the whole, it is only a part of the whole.)
In a nutshell, here is the current debate. The City has determined that Third Street from Jefferson to Grant needs work. The businesses along that three block stretch of street fear that closing that street for construction will negatively impact their ability to be profitable. Hence the discussion.
The businesses of downtown have already faced difficulty. My wife, the infamous “Mrs. Rent” who works downtown, jokes with her family back in Oklahoma that when they come to visit, it is okay if they don’t learn the streets of downtown because there are always one or two important ones closed for something, and every few months, the streets that are closed change places. Those from here just find a way. But for those new to the Wausau area or not used to urbanized downtowns, it can be a quite frustrating experience. Many of these businesses have had to do the best they could dealing with the construction when the pedestrian mall was re-opened to traffic, and most recently, when the construction of the Palladian made downtown navigation challenging for many. Many of these are niche businesses that will be the first to suffer from an economic downturn. They have somehow survived a couple of years of construction, and now when they can least afford it, one more season of closed streets in front of their storefronts is on the schedule.
On the Wausau Daily Herald forum boards and article comments, people have questioned if the work is needed at all. They have questioned why the sidewalks and planters are included in the project. (This ties with Dino’s 400 block article because the south block of this project is one stretch of the 400 block, and the “final design” for that block could impact that part of this street construction project.) Someone commented about Third Street being so bad that you can use it to knock the frozen slush blocks off your car.
Being someone who doesn’t find myself downtown often, I didn’t remember what the problems with the sidewalks were, or what the planters even looked like. I drive a truck with a pretty stiff suspension. I get thrown around on 17th Avenue, but never Third Street. So, I took a walk downtown on Friday and took some pictures.
Third Street is in bad shape. Some of the worst areas are near intersections where manhole covers and storm water drains are. The sidewalks are in excellent shape, much better, in fact, than some of sidewalks I plow where if I am not paying attention, the blade on the tractor will hit the uneven surface and nearly throw me off. The planters are snow covered but are out of place with the great sidewalks. They are basically wood, made with 6×6 landscaping lumber, and are the things you would find used around a country home, not a city’s downtown with mostly stone construction.
While taking my walk, I stopped in the Main Street office and had a very brief discussion with Leah. I learned that the question isn’t if Third Street needs to be done, just does it have to be done in 2009, or can it be delayed one year, to 2010?
My thoughts: Yes it can. Although the street is in bad shape, for one more year, temporary patches can hold things together. Let us not forget the speeds that are driven on this street. The speed limit is 25, but I seldom do much more than 15, constantly stopping as people are pulling into and out of parking stalls. (As a matter of fact, a 15 mph speed limit on Third may not be a bad idea.) The sidewalks are just fine. No matter which year the street project is done, the sidewalks don’t need to be a part of it. However the planters have to go. With cosmetic fixes, they could make it one more year, but they do really look like crap.
Now as far as the improvements to the 400 Block, that is a whole other discussion, one that is far from being resolved. Maybe delaying the Third Street project one year will allow us to finally reach a consensus that, if we can’t all be happy with, we at least all can live with.
by Lisa Shilts on December 2nd, 2008
I may be a few days late – as the big shopping weekend has come and gone – but I would like to mention the “Buy Local” campaign that City Pages has been promoting the past few weeks. Having worked on this for the past month, I am very excited about reminding everyone about the huge impact we can have on our local economy.
Although the idea came from a national organization that City Pages is a part of, the idea of spending money at independent, locally owned stores is a simple one that is growing.
When spending your money at a big box chain store, some of the money does stay in the community. However, the percentage of money spent that stays in the community is so much more if spent at a locally owned retailer.
Here are some of the ideas I would promote that we all think about during the holiday season, and throughout the rest of the year. And let’s not confuse “Buying Local” with shopping only downtown, as one person I spoke with believed. There are downtown shops that have lead the way for years, such as Evolutions and Janke’s.
But gift shops are abundant in our area, from Ambiance and LPG in Mosinee, up to Gifted Sisters, Treasure Mill, or the String Bead. Two of the best places to shop for gifts are All About Art on 3rd Avenue, and the CVA downtown – filled with jewelry, pottery, scarves, woodworking as well as watercolors, photography and other art.
Most of the jewelers in town are independent – except for the chain stores in the mall.
Speaking of the mall, there are a few independently owned stores, such as Packerland Plus – are there others?
I admit there are some items I feel I had to buy at a chain store because they weren’t available at independent retailers – a digital camera, or career clothes for my college age son – gotta go to Penney’s!
When Christmas is over, I challenge you to continue to buy local. Getting your hair cut – local or chain? And if you need a snow blower, Grebe’s or Menards? (and I’ll tell you that Grebe’s delivers for free – with a full tank of gas! When ours needed a slight repair and was still under warranty, Grebe’s came to my garage and fixed the snow blower for free! Remember that when you feel like you need might get a better deal at a box store). For light bulbs and other hardware, Home Depot or the locally owned ACE Hardware in Weston. (Is Charlie’s Hardware in Mosinee locally owned?)
Needing a picture framed? I challenge you to check out Cheryl’s Framing or Wausau Art & Framing (just re-opened last week under new owners) or Picture Perfect at Cedar Creek; I know you think you’re getting a great deal with that 50% off coupon for Michael’s – but I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised if you give an independent framing shop a chance.
I encourage each of you to let us know other local stores you would like us to visit.
And if you go to www.thecitypages.com/pledge and pledge to spend at least $100 locally this season, you will be in a drawing for almost $2,000 in gift certificates that area merchants have donated. You must enter by Wed. Dec. 3. BUY LOCAL!
